Faded Memories
by capnquirkl
Summary: *Spoiler Alert* Its been two and a half years since Sasuke Uchiha left Konoha. What happens when he returns and finds a girl that he had never seen before? Will he remember her the same way she remembers him? SasukexOC


Hey, this is actually one of my few finished stories...er oneshot. I really do like this one and I thought I did a good job! Credit for creating the basic plot idea goes to my friend Briece. I'm not sure if she has an account on here. Enjoy yallz! :D

Warning Spolier alert!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. I do own my OCs, Mizuki and her Grandfather.

Sasuke Uchiha

The first time I met her was on that bridge. The day I returned from my long, nearly three-year journey to find and kill my brother. I achieved my goal as I find myself in Konoha, venturing back in search of a purpose.

Passing an old ramen shop along one of the many long streets of Konoha, the owner of the small restaurant smiled kindly and waved. I didn't return the favor, only looking forward and walking on.

Then, to my surprise, I passed an old member of my team from when I was still a genin.

Sakura Haruno was taller, still thin and looked the same much to my memory from the last time I saw her.

"Sa…suke?" She muttered in disbelief with a slight stutter, her skin pale as she stared at me wistfully. I said nothing, as her eyes grew weary, tears starting to pour out of her sockets gently. Her hands glided upward, covering her mouth in shock. Seems nothing's changed since back then.

Soon after she noticed me standing there, others did as well, the same expressions plastered on their faces and some even continued the old habit of chasing me wherever I went.

As soon as Ino Yamanaka gazed at my being, she was the first to run after me, probably to grasp on and attach to me so that when she closed her eyes, I wouldn't disappear.

Slightly showing the fact I was nervous about the sudden horde of kunoichi chasing me, I ran as fast as I could to escape.

After running for nearly twenty minutes, the group was still close behind when something caught my eye by the lake.

A girl with long, almost to the ankle, white hair was standing on the bridge, gazing into the water as the fishes past under. I stopped, glancing back at the large amount of girls running after, and jumped behind a bush in a nearby patch of forest.

As the group passed, I stuck my head out and searched the area for any lagging runners who might rat me out to the rest of the kunoichi.

No one was left, so I came out, looking back to the bridge and seeing the same girl.

_She still hasn't moved from that spot. _I thought, finding myself walking down to the area where the girl was standing.

Once on the bridge, I noticed that she was actually quite beautiful, though her long flowing hair covered parts of her face. I stared in awe as she looked into the water, not blinking for one second.

"Do you like the fishes?" A small, high-pitched voice spoke from her lips, to my surprise. Her looks differed from how she sounded. I thought her voice would be much lower and broken up. Instead it was a light, calming and smooth voice that was easy to listen to.

I broke my gaze as she peered over at me. Her angelic green orbs passed through me completely as I blinked widely.

"Oh, I actually just like the view of the lake from here, is all." I lied to explain my reason for coming over. "Oh. I do too. It sooths me for some reason, maybe the water and how its so calm, though everything underneath is so hectic."

"Yeah."

"Almost reminds me of how we live. Humans, I mean." She stated quickly after my reply to her answer. I didn't see what she meant by her statement though.

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned, almost sounding as though I thought she sounded crazy. She didn't take it in a wrong way at all which made me feel comfortable asking.

She sighed lightly.

"Do you ever just think about how we look at a person and see only the surface of them?" She cocked her head slightly, looking back down at a fish swimming under the deep blue water.

"No, sorry but I don't think I ever have."

Quickly she ran over to me, her eyes widely opened as I jerked backward as she did so.

"Do you ever once come to realize that maybe, just maybe there is a war going on in their mind? Do you ever think about how a person so calm and simple, such as you could be dying of sadness on the inside?" Her tone was fierce and filled with compassion and violence unlike anyone I had seen before. My eyes grew as wide as they could only to find her unwinding and backing off from where I stood.

"I'm sorry." She looked away, her fierce eyes dulling into a softer state.

"Its fine. I realize what you meant about the fishes and how it is calming to you." I answered, stunned from her massive uproar.

"Good. It's just something about how they can seem to compile it all much better than us humans can. Really, I wish I was a fish." She daintily replied.

"You do?" I quickly double took between her and the fishes under water.

Her expression paused as she looked up at me, being shorter than me by quite a few inches. Her eyes now seeming to be confused in a way as she gazed into my own.

"Well, why wouldn't I?" She inferred quizzically as I shrugged. "I'm not sure. It just came as a surprise that you said that." I answered. I wasn't sure what to say at all in reply to that.

"There are bad things about fish as well, don't you think?" I commented her wish as she looked at me in a way that I'm not sure I could describe. It was kind but also had a sense of doubt in it. "That's the beauty of it!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together, shutting her eyes with a large grin curled on her lips. "Nothing's perfect and everyone makes mistakes some time…" She broke off, jumping over to the side of the bridge and bending over the rail to look closer at the fishes and sea creatures she admired so dearly.

"But neither are we, so why want to be another being of life that just makes mistakes the same as we do? You wouldn't want any power or material things?"

"Nope." She stated clearly, a warm smile on her face as she kept her eyes on the water and its struggling inhabitants beneath the surface.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I wouldn't kid about something that important."

I had nothing to say in reply to her comeback. She was very serious now and I didn't want to break the moment of looking into her eyes, bold and fierce, because of some dumb argument about fishes.

"I don't need material possessions or power to make me happy. I'm happy, because I choose to be, not because it gets me what I want." She stated in a soft, firm voice as she smiled at me. This girl was the different from any other person I had ever met.

"So then…where did you go?"

"What?"

"I haven't seen you around here before, and all of a sudden you are hear, you know your way around and you're getting chased by all the girls. They must know you, so what have you been doing all this time?" She questioned simply, with a keen eye for observation. I sighed heavily.

"I left."

"You left? What is that supposed to mean?" She returned my answer abruptly.

I paused for a few seconds. "I left."

I wasn't sure if I could trust this girl, but something about the honesty in her eyes told me I could tell her where I had been, what I had finally done to my brother.

"I killed my brother."

Ashamed, I looked downward, her face blank in fright. "Wha-" "I killed him. Finally." I cut off her words. Regaining my composure, I look back into her eyes. They were drenched to my surprise. My dark orbs widened. I never meant to make her cry with the frightening truth of where I had been over the last few years.

"I'm sorry, I-I…I just don't understand!" She hesitated, hiccupping lightly as salty tears flowed down her face. "How could you do something like that to your own brother?" Her voice cracked in a scream, no longer controlled by the once calm and collected girl I had met upon the bridge not an hour ago.

"I did it for revenge." I stated in a whisper.

"No-"

"I had to. He killed my entire clan, except me. I used to wish that I had just died along with them all. Now that he's gone, I find myself melancholy about the whole situation." I choked, now knowing the truth of my brother's attack on the Uchiha clan. "Melancholy about what?" The girl wiped her puffy, red eyes gently as she faintly inquired my feelings. I found my eyes tearing up. This was nothing like me. What was wrong?

"My god." I wiped my left eye, to find water seeping out. With a slight chuckle I turn away, my hand clenching between my orbs to keep them from weeping. I couldn't believe that I just started to cry, and in front of a woman, nonetheless.

She let out a small laugh, reaching for my hand and pulling it into her grasp, I turned in reply. "You don't have to be ashamed of letting out your feelings. I won't make fun of you for feeling sad about your loss. Although, there must something about this that is making you break apart somehow. What happened?" She calmly supported me as I gazed into her soft, sea green eyes. Her flowing, nearly white hair floated as a light gust of wind blew past us.

"Shortly after my brother died, I learned that he was forced to kill my clan by the village he loved so much." I felt it hard to hold my tears back, the guilt rising drastically in my mind. The girl gave a sympathetic look. I turned away, not being able to bear my odd behavior from my regular norm. "Konoha…they forced him to kill everyone, even though he didn't want to. The only reason I'm alive is because he loved me, and because none of my family treated me with the respect Itachi thought I deserved." The girl's eyes widened completely as I mentioned my brother's name. "I'm only alive, because he loved me!"

This was it. I finally cracked. Tears poured from my sockets and I couldn't stop them.

"I'm so sorry."

"Its fine. I still can't believe I'm crying, I feel like a weakling." I rubbed my eyes lightly with my long, white sleeve. Her expression turned sincere.

"I've also found information on the attack of the Kyuubi so many years ago and that the leader of the same group my brother had joined summoned the demon onto our village. That bastard. I can picture his face in my mind." I flinched in anger, my hands balling into fists at the slight thought of him.

"And-" I hesitated, painfully.

"Yes?"

I trembled, slightly looking up to her.

"He's one of my own clan."

Her tear stained eyes seemed blood shot in surprise and horror.

"I just can't seem to even imagine how my clan would feel if they knew this." I saddened, looking down at the fishes once more. "They would have felt exactly the way you do. You shouldn't have to put so much pressure on yourself to 'redeem your clan' or anything. You should continue living and actually live your life instead of living in the past. Trust me, you will get nowhere if you continue robbing yourself like this."

"I'd give anything to make him feel this pain he's dropped upon my shoulders."

Her hand drifted onto my shoulder, rubbing it gently with her thumb. I turned away once again, wiping my eyes. My weakness was killing me at how I just acted. I hated myself for it.

"But still," She bent her knees, pulling her long, white dress beneath her as she sat down on the cold, wooden bridge. Her eyes closed as she turned toward the breeze, the wind caressing her lightly pale skin as she let out a relieving sigh.

I stare in awe as I too, sit down on the bridge, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Revenge is wrong." She stated, returning with cold, serious eyes as I blinked aimlessly. I looked down at my own, shaking hands. "I'm not sure I know what right and wrong are anymore. I don't know anything." I stated coldly, lifting my hands and covering my eyes in defeat.

Her eyes became sincere as she comforted me, resting an arm over my shoulders. Closing her delicate eyes as she rested there momentarily. "Don't say that. You know so much." She stated as I looked up from my palms, soiled with salty tears.

"Barely." I replied harshly.

"Truly! You do."

"You may think so, but not for what I have been through…or for what I've done."

"I may not know…but I believe in you. And you should believe in yourself. You may get somewhere in this world by doing so, instead of killing at will or despising anyone stronger than you. Learn from your mistakes." She insisted, clasping my hands within her soft, frozen ones.

"Your hands are freezing! Are you alright?" I shrieked, thinking that maybe she was sick somehow. "Oh, I'm fine. My hands are always cold." She replied, turning away slowly. "Good."

Suddenly, she embraced me lightly in a soft hug. Her presence was so light that it seemed we weren't even touching. I hugged back momentarily as she sighed happily.

As our bodies separated, she smiled calmly, the green in her eyes brighter than ever. I smiled as well, grasping her hand again, tightly holding it.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Somehow…I feel calmer, like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders…I have no reason to train hard or kill anymore."

"Wonderful!"

"Yes, the reason I came back was to find a purpose for living. I'd committed my whole life to killing my brother and then dying after, but I can't seem to ever remember why I would wish such a thing. It was like nothing else mattered to me, but revenge. I'm so horrible I can't even stand it." I informed.

She was quite surprised that I intended to kill myself once I had completed killing my brother. "Why would you say something like that?" She inferred. "I don't know."

"Its terrible! Wanting death at such a young age, your whole life ahead of you. I've seen what its like to through your whole life away. And I know how terrible it is for the ones who love you to see a child die. Its no way to claim your purpose!" She tried to pursue me into saving my life and to continue living as I finally came around and agreed.

"I'll try my best and I promise to live my life for myself."

"Thank you…God, you've changed so much." She sighed, relieved and knowing that I had been changed permanently for the better.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." She stated, bowing slightly as she then embraced me lastly, a soft smile across her lips. I wrapped my arms around her slender body one last time as she then released me. Quickly, she kissed my lips passionately as I blushed, returning the favor lovingly. As she broke off, she grinned happily at me. It was odd, yes, mostly that I was the one blushing.

"I'll see you again." She stated, assuring our next meeting to happen.

She paused, feeling the calm, cool breeze as she ran off into the village until she disappeared from my sight.

"Soon enough."

Several days later, I kept returning to that same bridge, hoping to find the girl that I had met that day. I felt completely idiotic for forgetting to even ask her name. I never saw her at that spot again…

I decided to look around the city in search of this girl. I didn't seem to find her anywhere and I asked nearly everyone I ran into. Unfortunately, I ran into some kunoichi, and well, I ran away from some kunoichi.

Out of the entire village, no one knew who that girl was. It took me days to search the whole village, yet I never found her. I haven't even run into Naruto…and I was dreading when the time would come that I did.

As I passed a small teashop, I realized I hadn't checked here, so I went inside. Slipping my shoes off, I look up to find an old man, sleeping at the counter. "Hello?" I howl, faintly. The old man suddenly awoke as I jolted backward. "Oh, oh yes. Come in, young man." The man invited me in pleasantly as I stepped into the dark, dusty shop. It seemed like it was about to fall over.

As soon as the man saw who I was, he seemed to be much more keen in the way he spoke and even looked at me. I was merely confused.

"Yes, hello. I'm actually here to ask you some questions…"

"Alright young man, but first you will have to purchase something." The old man laughed insanely as I slumped into a somber mood, my wallet thinning by the moment. I sighed sadly.

"Fine. I'll have a cup of tea, please." I stated boringly, unhappy about the situation that I was being pulled into for something that might not even work.

Minutes later, the man lifted the counter door, exiting his work site and sitting with me at a small checker-like table, setting the tea cups down as he sat.

I took a sip; though its immense hotness, I still could taste its amazing flavor. It was the best tea I had ever had. "This is delicious." I commented, showing respect towards the maker. "Thank you young man. Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh yes, I've come to ask you if you have seen a missing girl. Well, not missing exactly…I saw her a few days ago and haven't found her since. No one in the whole village seems to know who she is." I explained desperately as he rubbed his bearded chin back and forth. "A girl, you say?" The man questioned. "What did she look like?"

"She had long, nearly white hair, at the ankle, if not slightly higher. She was wearing a long, white sundress the last time I saw her and was slightly pale."

"Is that all?"

"Um, oh wait, she had green eyes. Bright and lively, sea green eyes." I stated happily, remembering the beauty of her dazzling orbs and how they enlightened her gorgeous face.

"Well son, I can't say I know her. I'm sorry, but the description doesn't ring a bell. I haven't seen anyone like that around here." The old man stated with bore in his tone as though it was wasting his time. He looked away as I grew angry at his attitude.

"Look! I've been searching practically day and night for this girl for days and it's possibly the one and only thing that kept me going this far! Please, if you know anything, just tell me!" I lost control on my feelings, gripping the old man by the collar as I realized what I had done. I had changed completely, because of her.

The man's eyes were wide as I stared into them, a tear falling from one of mine. As the man noticed my tear stained eyes, he knew he could trust me as he lifted my grip from his collar and sighed.

"Alright. I'll take you to her." He stated, kindly as I brightened in happiness. After all the searching, I had finally found her.

Moments later, after I had followed the old man, I hadn't realized where we were going.

"Sir, where are going?" I turned the man's shoulder to face me as he pointed down in front of us both. "There."

As I looked down to where he was pointing, I saw that it was a tombstone that he was pointing at. "What? Is this a joke, old man?!" I was furious at the hoax he had set up. "Not at all. This is her gravestone. Her name was Mizuki."

At that moment, I knew it wasn't a joke, hearing her name was the reason I believed it was true. It meant "Beautiful hope." I could tell that then, I was never going to see this girl again. My eyes began to grow weary as I learned the truth of her being.

"Mizuki was my granddaughter. She died several years ago, on the same night of the Uchiha massacre…Sasuke."

"W-Wait. How do you know—" I trembled, as the man suddenly knew my name. "Yes, I know who you are, Sasuke. My granddaughter told me much about you when you were younger. She was very fond of you, but from what I heard, every girl in the ninja academy was. It wasn't like my little Mizuki had much of a chance." The old man informed you to your surprise.

"I-I had no idea, sir. I couldn't even remember much before that day. The tragedy was too great for a child to endure." I protested, guilt rising to my shoulders as I forgot this girl.

"Oh, but one day, she was sitting by herself on a heavily shaded swing as you walked over to go talk to her for the first time. I can remember it like it was only yesterday, the look in Mizuki's eyes as she came running through the door that afternoon, ecstatic that you had even noticed her. She was so happy." The man chuckled, nostalgically. I forced a smile across my lips as I felt great remorse for the old man, loosing his only granddaughter at a young age. "I can see how that would make you happy as well." I chuckled innocently as he continued on.

"As you can imagine, she told me the whole story in complete detail, I was very close with the child. She told me that once you came up to her, she was so shocked that she fell of the swing like a total klutz! It was adorable for an old grandfather to hear. You helped her up and began to talk to her, since you launched a conversation on whether she was alright or not." The man said, somberly, looking up into my eyes and now again seeing the little boy that he was told so much about.

"Wow." I laughed kindly in regards to her story. _My god…I remember that day! _My mind snapped instantly as I remember faintly the time I went to talk to Mizuki, my childhood friend, on the swings.

"Sir! I remember your granddaughter!" I shouted instantly as I recognized the blurred memory in the back of my mind.

"Delightful. See, I was the one that gave her the advice to make you a present to show that she liked you. So…she did." He laughed faintly, rubbing his hand on the top ledge of her tombstone, sighing lightly.

"What did she make, sir?"

"It was a beautiful picture of the both of you, hold hands and playing together on the swing that you had met at earlier that day. It was quite amazing for a child to create and I couldn't be more proud of her hard work. She'd been working on it that entire night and insisted she gave it to you immediately. I gave her permission to leave the house quickly to run to yours, it not being too far from our own."

"Strange…it never reached me." I became saddened somehow fearing the truth that was coming in the story. "But it wouldn't have reached me…I came home late that night! A-And Itachi!" I stuttered confusingly, holding back my tears. "Yes, Sasuke. Little did she know that you weren't home that evening, but when she arrived she witnessed your brother slaughtering the villagers and the entire clan of the Uchiha." Mizuki's grandfather replied. My palm flew swiftly over my mouth in shock and horror. "Oh…god, no." I whispered faintly.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but its true. Itachi was the one who murdered Mizuki." The old man said, as he too couldn't control his feelings, tears dripping from his eyes as well. "Your brother noticed Mizuki there, though she couldn't move in fright of what she had just witnessed. Itachi suddenly appeared in front of her…as he—" The old man paused, gravely as he turned away, taking a moment to control his feelings.

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk any further. Its too painful for me." He apologized as I forgave him, only having forgiveness in my soul, because of her…

"Its fine, sir. I didn't expect it to be an easy conversation for you. It certainly isn't for me." I informed him. "Sasuke."

"Yes?"

"Come back to my shop for a moment, there's something I need to show you."

"Alright." I agreed as he led me back to the teashop.

Minutes later, we arrived back at his teashop, while I waited for him to retrieve something from the back room. As he returned, he was holding a small, plain box that was tattered and looked slightly misshapen. I became confused on what it was.

The box was quite long and thin as Mizuki's grandfather asked me to open it. As I looked within the box, there was a scroll inside, even more tattered than the box and had a small bloodstain on the bottom of the inside, and some on the scroll. _Could this be—? _I asked myself with great nerve of what was on the paper.

Quickly unraveling the scroll, I saw two children playing by a swing, one with long white hair and one with spiky, raven blue hair. I knew that this was the gift she was to give me from the second I saw the box. And truthfully, it was really amazing for the age of Mizuki when she had made it.

"Take it." The grandfather said kindly.

"But Sir—" I objected. "This is all you have of her left! I couldn't possibly…" I rejected his offer.

"No Sasuke, you were meant to have this picture. It wasn't made for me." The man said softly, pushing the box into your hands. "You are the only person I would have shown it to. Take it." He reassured me as I smiled warmly. "Thank you very much, Sir." I bowed politely as I walked toward the door. "I guess I'll take my leave now. Thank you again." I turned to meet him, smiling as I turned forward again to retrieve my shoes.

"And Sasuke." He called to me. "Yes?" I turned again, blankly.

"She loved you." The man informed me seriously as I turned back again, smiling happily and walking out the door.

"As do I, Sir. Thank you."

_I knew that the moment I laid eyes on her, I loved her._

_Just her presence made me smile whenever she was near me. I would have never changed without her…just going to kill more innocent people. But not anymore…because of she saved me._

Wiping the fleshly fallen tears on my cheeks, I looked up at the sky, hoping that I would be able to see her again someday. As I looked back forward, I saw someone that I feared to return to.

I saw Naruto standing before me.

Eyes in shock to reveal me in Konoha, he wondered whether he was dreaming again, or if his eyesight was finally going.

"Sasuke." He stated coldly.

"Hello again Naruto." I stated, trying not to sound too cold, only hoping to redeem myself for what I had done. I hoped he would forgive me.

"Why are you back?"

"I…I killed him." I admitted, his eyes going blood shot in surprise that I had actually done it; actually killing off my brother.

"Sasuke…are you here…to stay?" Naruto stuttered, his heart pounding in anxiousness. There was a shot silence as I thought. I didn't really have anything to go back to, since I had spent all my life training to kill Itachi and I had already done that. I didn't have anything to live for, until Mizuki found me. I felt that it was my responsibility to stay…to redeem myself.

"Yes, Naruto. I'll stay." I promised, as his eyes grew weary in happiness, a large smile spreading across his lips as he ran over to me, embracing me quickly in a tight hug, beginning to cry, he was so happy.

I always knew you would come back…somehow." Naruto whispered as I momentarily hugged him back, feeling that I had finally found something to return to…something to live for.

"Somehow…I thought that I would too."

_At that moment, I knew what she meant when she told me we would meet again. I'm going to live my life the way she thought I should. I may have to wait, but I'll see her soon enough._


End file.
